Knife River Village Offered Unique Educational Opportunities

Students were able to connect with life on the open prairie with this innovative project funded by NPF.

Knife River Indian Villages offers visitors the opportunity to explore the lives of the Northern Plains Indians on the Upper Missouri. Step into a reconstructed earthlodge and imagine boiling buffalo meat in a clay pot or pounding corn with a mortar and pestle. View the artistry of everyday and ceremonial clothing, bags, and implements. Listen to memories of traditional Hidatsa Indian life, then walk through the past to the Sakakawea site, where earthlodge depressions hint of their life in a vibrant village, alive with games, ceremonies, and trade.

This project completed a unit of on prairie ecology including programs about prairie restoration, ecology, wetlands, and invasive species to add to the growing curriculum. Student learning was assessed in an ongoing basis through dialogue, reflection, and assignments and participation.